A modular aquaculture model - a system designed to combine
scientific process models to address aquaculture management issues
Abstract
The Salmon farming industry in British Columbia has been and continues
to be affected by land use planning activities and by environmental
assessments. In terms of Costal Zone Planning the main result
of these planning activities have been to define exclusion zones
for aquaculture . Several individual agencies have relevant
policy and statutes in place to regulate the fish farm industry
however there is no overarching policy to guide and coordinate
the Province's approach to salmon aquaculture. An important part
of this process to development a provincial policy will be an
environmental assessment in the Broughton Archipelago area.
One expected result will be the definition of a threshold limit
of feed input, above which individual salmon farm applications
will be subject to a formal Environmental Assessment review.
The present situation provides an excellent and perhaps the last
significant opportunity to apply numerical salmon loading models
to affect the Provincial policy on salmon aquaculture.
Barron Carswell, Msc.
Marine Resource Planner
Aquaculture and Commercial Fisheries Branch
Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food